Iwan Ries China Black Vanilla Burley

Another blend from the Altadis sampler; I haven't seen this one locally. I'm an aromatic fan & thought this might be a "light beer" version of MacBaren's Vanilla Cream Flake in a pouch form. Opening the pouch the tobacco wasn't the black & brown slightly sticky tobacco I expected after sampling other China Black blends. The stringy, brown tobacco was easy to pack & stayed light. I normally won't report on a blend until I've finished at least one purchase (tin or pouch). The exceptions to this rule have been Mixture 79 & China Black Vanilla Burley. The Mixture due to it's foulness but this blend I haven't finished for other reasons. Not that this is bad but I can't take it anymore. This blend gets bitter rather quickly regardless of the pipe I use or the packing method. The worst of it though, is that I get the most terrible heartburn while smoking this blend. I've tried it on an empty stomach, full stomach, late in the day or in the morning; I consistently get heartburn & run for a Pepcid. I guess it's something in my body chemistry. There isn't much in the way of flavor to this one either.

i purchased this blend at a buy one get one free kind of offering. being an aromatic smoker who wouldn't mind cheap tobacco i gave this one a go. the tobacco is one the dry side and the smell off the pouch is like smelling a custard powder right off the can. however, that dosent translate into the taste nor to the room note to be honest. it delivers an acceptable aroma with a taste that represent vanilla in a rough way (i tasted better!). it burns dry and clean with a little bit of harshness on the mouth. is it recommended well that is very subjective, as i cant tolerate mixture 79 yet many adore that blend. i would say that it wasn't a pleasurable journey but i gave it a 2 star for the burning quality and the cheap price.

Better than a drugstore aromatic but nothing great. It left a coating in my mouth I did not like. Smells good and that is it. there are better choices out there.

I have a little story about this stuff. When I First got married, I was between jobs. I was a cigarette smoker. I was out of money and cigarettes and had an old Dr. Grabow, which I can't remember where I got it. I was taking cigarette butts out of my ashtray and putting them into this pipe (YUK!!). After doing some odd jobs and some money, I decided to try some "real" tobacco (although I have dabbeled in it a few years before).

I went down to this local "stop and rob" and saw what they had. I saw China Black on sale 2 for the price of 1 and I figured that was a deal. I got them and enjoyed them. After finding steady work, I was trying different drugstore blends, and still smoking cigarettes. I smoked it here and there, trying different stuff. I was smoking other blends and didn't see China Black around anymore.

As of a few years ago, I totally gave up cigarettes (2001) and now smoke only pipes and cigars.

Just a couple of years ago, I found some of this stuff at a local smoke shop and tried it again. Perhaps I have become a bit of a snob, since I wasn't as impressed by it as I was at 23. It just wasn't what I remembered.

Anyway That's my little story, Hope you stayed awake.

This is a wannabe Cpt Black. I used to like this when I was low on cash and they had 2 for 1 sales on this. This was when I just started seriuos pipe smoking, in 1996 (although I dabbeled in it for several years prior).

It was difficult to keep lit. Most of the flavor was gone halfway down the bowl. WHAT WAS I THINKING!!??

This is pretty good for a vanilla pouch tobac. Behaves very well in the pipe. Nice aroma. Worth a shot if you are looking for an inexpensive vanilla blend.

I was immediately drawn to the aroma of this vanilla as it was very noticeable through the wrapped pouch. I quicky bought it. At $4.19 a pouch it was a reasonably priced tobacco. But if you factor in that I got bought it in a buy on get one free double pack I got a screaming bargain. I went home with high hopes for this tobacco. After unsealing the pouch I was presented with a strong scent of vanilla that I would say definitely was bordering on overpowering. It smelled more like a air freshener than a pipe tobacco with not a hint of tobacco aroma to be found. Upon sticking my fingers in to pack my bowl I was greeted with a sopping wet mess. This has so much flavoring on it that it was actually sticky from the casing. Packing was a little hard due to the wetness. Lighting was just a plain chore. Due to the wetness, this took my several tries to light and a few relights to keep lit. The flavor was very overpowering. I set this one aside and finished one of the pouches over a 4 month period only smoking it occasionally to see if drying it out helped. Finally about the last quarter had about the correct moisture to it and it wasn?t half bad. Actually it was quite enjoyable. I looked at the other pouch of the two pack and it seems to have the same moisture level but you can still see the syrup like casing on the pouch like it was soaking in it which I am pretty sure it was. I have mixed feelings about this tobacco. I enjoyed it once it dried out a bit but without drying it out it is horrible. I would say I cannot recommend this as there are too many good Vanillas like Prince Albert Soft Vanilla, Captain Black White, Middleton?s Gold and Mild and even Smoker?s Pride Vanilla, that are consistently good right out of the pouch without the need to dry out or anything to do other than pack, lite, relax. Plus All but Captain Black White are cheaper, and easier to find too boot. If you like vanilla flavored pipe tobacco try one of my other recommendations if you didn?t already. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.